


Comfort

by DGCatAniSiri



Series: James Vega Romance [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 14:03:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3384359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DGCatAniSiri/pseuds/DGCatAniSiri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James's talk in Shepard's quarters takes a slightly different turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

“Everything’s a little too comfortable for me.”

“The bed’s harder than it looks.”

“I’ll take your word.”

As James headed for the door, he hesitated. Part of him just wanted to get back down to the cargo bay, go do some reps or something, and deal with the fact that he’d bared his soul to his CO, who just weeks ago had been the prisoner he was guarding. Another part had an entirely different idea. Put together and it was all a little much.

Then a voice in the back of his mind was a voice reminding him that the whole of the war that they were fighting was ‘a little much.’ Maybe right now, he should be a little more willing to take chances. If he didn’t now, he stood a good chance of not getting to do so later.

He turned to look back to the Commander. “Loco... Shepard... I got another question for you.” 

Shepard leaned against the side of the display case for his model ships. “Shoot, James.”

“Do you think we’re gonna do this? Find this Catalyst thing, build the Crucible, stop the Reapers? I mean really. I’m ready to fight til the end, but actually winning this thing?”

Shepard almost went for the reassuring lie, that of course they would, that the Reapers didn’t stand a chance and they could all retire to some beach somewhere. Then he saw the vulnerability on James’s face, a look that made James, not even a decade Shepard’s junior, look so young. So he opted for the truth. “I don’t know, James. I really don’t. I’m hoping that we’ll do it, but... I really don’t know.”

The truth wasn’t the easiest thing to hear under any circumstances. James couldn’t exactly call these the best of circumstances. But the truth also was not unappreciated. He sighed. “Thanks for bein’ honest with me, Loco. This is... this is all really messed up.”

“Tell me about it,” Shepard said. He’d been doing the ‘save the galaxy’ business for years now, maybe even lifetimes if he were to stop considering his death as little more than a coma. 

“Guess you’d know more than most, huh?” James sighed. He hesitated again. Intellectually, he knew that this really shouldn’t be as difficult as it was coming out as. Much as he wanted to come out and say what was really on his mind, the words weren’t making their way across. He decided to try again. “Look, Loco, we know the score here, right? Much as we want it different, there’s a good chance we’re not all makin’ it outta this, right?”

“I don’t think you should be focusing on that kind of thinking, James. I know I can’t make any guarantees, but I have every intention of getting as many people as I can through this.”

“I know, but...” His words were failing him again. So James did the only thing he could to make what he was trying to say come across.

He practically leapt across the distance between them and gently pressed his lips to Shepard’s. 

The kiss lasted maybe a few seconds before James’s brain caught up to his body and he jumped back. “Shit...” he hissed under his breath. “Shepard, I’m... I didn’t-” James began to head for the door, figuring discretion would serve as the better part of valor here, and he should just leave while he and Shepard could pretend that hadn’t happened.

Shepard grabbed his arm, preventing his escape. 

“James.” Slowly, James turned to face Shepard. “What are you looking for here?” The question was soft and gentle, not trying to pressure him, just get some solid answers. 

In some ways, James thought that could be worse – he could deal with anger. He’d almost expected it, knowing that Shepard had, based on his interactions with past and present crew, hadn’t been interested in any kind of romantic ties, not while this fight, this war was going on. He could even have been one of those asses who were okay with other guys checking them out, but got upset if they tried anything. 

Reluctantly, he came to meet Shepard’s gaze, relieved that he didn’t see any sign that Shepard was about to try and kick his ass. That was a good starting point, James figured. In for a penny... “Loco... You’ve gotta’ve seen that I’m... not exactly open about all of this, and... I’d only really start talkin’ about this kind of thing with people who I... who I really care about.” He knew he was still beating around the bush, and he also knew he’d shot any chance of getting around that elephant in the room by kissing Shepard, but getting the words out wasn’t easy.

“So... you care about me?” There was a hint of mischief in Shepard’s voice. Okay, so, that ruled out Shepard being an asshole. James managed to glance at Shepard, and realized that he was (poorly) hiding a smirk. 

So maybe still an asshole, just not that kind of asshole.

“I... I might.” Having that out there was a bit of a relief. But it was a question hanging between them still – James had spoken his feelings, but Shepard hadn’t, seeming content to just let James chew on his own feet some more.

Definitely an asshole.

After another few moments of letting James squirm, it seemed that Shepard finally took pity on him. “I wondered.” Shepard stopped trying to hide the smirk, though it softened to a friendlier smile. “You don’t get to be N7 without learning how to read people. When I talked to you, there were signs.” James would have argued that on a different day, but he couldn’t deny at this point that Shepard had seen something. He knew that he’d been doing the flirting-but-not-really-if-you-don’t-want-it-to-be thing for a while. At least since they’d met in Purgatory, Shepard buying the round of drinks for the other soldiers. Hell, maybe he’d been doing it back when Shepard had been officially in lockup. 

James almost questioned why Shepard hadn’t said anything if he’d had him figured out, but it was easy to guess a reason for that – it’s a whole lot harder to get someone to admit to a crush, particularly on a superior officer, when you confront them. A lot easier when they make a fool of themselves like James had. 

Shepard approached James, closing the distance between them, though stopping before he could come in and kiss him again. “James... You already kissed me. The cat’s out of the bag here. And I kissed you back. You weren’t imagining that. So you know that I’m interested in you as well. So you tell me. Where do we go from here?”

That was what was throwing James for a loop. He had no idea what was supposed to come next in this. “Loco... This is...”

“If you’re going to say ‘messed up, I’d like to remind you that we’re in a situation that could easily get classified as ‘end of days.’ We passed ‘messed up’ a long while back. So tell me, what do you want? You want to forget this, we can forget it. But if you’re willing to let this be more than just... a couple of soldiers needing what relief we can find... So am I.”

It took James a moment to find his voice again. “Why? I mean...” He managed to smile, giving Shepard a very lame laugh. “Not that I’m not a prime physical specimen worth being interested in, but... Why me?” Liara’s crush on Shepard was probably one of the worst kept secrets on the Normandy, Esteban had mentioned in passing that he though Shepard was pretty easy on the eyes, and there’d definitely been a spark of something between him and the Major. But here he was, telling James he wanted to try this out.

Shepard shrugged. “Why not? James, you’re attractive, you’ve got a good heart, I’ve trusted you at my back dozens of times on the battlefield... Why wouldn’t I be interested in you?”

James almost responded with another recap of what had happened at Fehl Prime, the mistakes he’d made... And had a revelation that probably counted as common sense, that Shepard had just heard all of this and was still interested, still wanting to try to see if there was something between them more than just the friendship-slash-mentorship that they’d developed to date. 

Maybe the real no-brainer was in giving this a chance. If they were going to die tomorrow, did James want the fact that he could have this chance with Shepard and he turned it down to be on his list of regrets?

Not a chance.

“Okay, Loco. Let’s do this, then.” James practically dove towards Shepard, kissing him again, this time wrapping his arms around Shepard, holding him close, even if it had been him who’d pulled away before. Shepard returned the kiss with equal intensity – oh yeah, he’d definitely been wanting and waiting for this. James wondered how long Shepard had been waiting for him to make a move like this, but the thought quickly slipped away as he savored the feeling of Shepard pressed up against him like this.

The kiss went on for some time – probably not as long as it felt it did, but then, they couldn’t possibly make it last that long. Then Shepard pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against James. As Shepard caught his breath, James began reaching for Shepard’s uniform top, tugging on it, trying to pull it free. To his surprise, Shepard reached down, his hands wrapping around James’s own, stopping him.

“Loco...?” 

Shepard smiled gently, though that hint of a smirk was still there. “What kind of guy do you think I am, James? You should at least buy me dinner before we get to that part.”

James couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, Loco. Got a little excited is all.” 

“Yeah, well, rein in the enthusiasm a little,” Shepard said, though it was without any bite. “I intend to stick around for a while, and I expect the same of you. So we have time to take this slow. Understand me?”

Taking things slow wasn’t what James was used to – the people he’d gotten together with in the past had definitely done more short term relations, not meant to be more than having a warm body in bed. But he wanted this. He wanted to be here, be with Shepard. He wasn’t looking for a shared bed. He wanted this. 

“Okay, Loco. We’ll take it slow.” But he still stole another quick kiss, then flashed Shepard a cheeky grin. “But eventually, I’m gonna want to see how hard that bed is myself.”


End file.
